Determination of trace amounts of cadmium by laser excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry

The possibilities of direct determination of trace amounts of Cd by laser excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry were investigated. Resonance fluorescence excitation at the wavelengths 228.802 nm (‘strong’ line) and 326.106 nm (‘weak’ line) has been studied. For the ‘strong’ line the scattering of laser exciting radiation is the limiting process, whereas the electronic noises are the limiting processes for the ‘weak’ line. Detection limits of 0.07 pg ml–1 for the strong line and 0.31 pg ml–1 for the weak line were achieved.